Needle threader



Sept. 14, 1937. J. F. MANN 2,093,017

NEEDLE THREADER Filed Feb. 5, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l Inu ant. DI"

.lF. MFINN Httnrml Sept. 14, 1937. J. F. MANN 2,093,017

NEEDLE THREADER Filed Feb. 5, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

FE 1E! 46 T1111 Bnt. EII' EH W? Fittni'nlg Patented Sept. 14, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in needle threaders, the present application being a continuation in part of my United States patent application Serial Number 10,070, filed March 8, 1935, of the same title, and an object of my invention is to devise a needle threading device which will thread a needle with any size of thread up to the coarsest size that the needle eye will pass.

Another object of my invention is to provide a needle threader in which the alignment of the thread with the needle eye for threading of the latter is effected substantially automatically when the thread and the needle are engaged in the device by the user, so that the threading of the needle may be accomplished positively very rapidly, and with a minimum of eifort.

Yet another object is to devise a needle threader whereby, once the threading operation is completed, the needle may be disengaged therefrom by merely withdrawing it from the device, without the necessity of unhooking the thread from a threading element.

A still further, object is to devise a needle threader capable of threading needles of a predetermined range of eye sizes but in which, during its fabrication, two of its parts can be changed to corresponding parts of different dimensions to enable the needle threader to be used for threading needles of a different range of eye sizes from that above specified.

With these and other objects in view which will hereinafterappear as the specification proceeds, my invention consists of the construction and arrangement all as hereinafter more particularly described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a plan View of my needle threader, the thread and needle being positioned in the device ready for threading of the latter;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the device shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view similar to Fig. 2 showing the form assumed by the device after the thread has been passed through the needle-eye but before the threading element has been withdrawn;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken along the line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of an alternative form of my device;

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of the needle engaging end of the device shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken along the line 1'! (Fig. 6)

Fig. 8 is an inverted plan view of the top portion of the device of the form shown in Fig. 5 before the bottom portion is applied thereto during assembly of the threader;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the bottom portion of the device of the form shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a second and preferred alternative form of my improved needle threader attached to an orthodox spool of thread;

Fig. 11 is' an elevational detail of the needle engaging portion of the threader shown in Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a plan view thereof;

Fig. 13 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken along the line |3-l3 (Fig. 12);

Fig. 14 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken along the line I l-l4 (Fig. 12);

Fig. 15 is a similar view to that of Fig. 12 but showing a needle threaded and with part of the threader broken away to reveal its mechanism; and

Fig. 16 is a plan view of a shim used in the threader of Fig.- 10.

Like characters of reference refer to corresponding parts in the different views.

Referring to the drawings, the embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive comprises a U-shaped element I of spring material in one leg of which is a transverse needle head receiving groove 2 of V section. The groove 2 has a smaller groove 3 along its inner apex for receiving a thread 4 and an orifice 5 is disposed centrally of such groove which is adapted to pass freely a threading element 6 secured to and projecting from the other leg of the element l.

A needle 'i may be held in the groove 2 by means of a spring finger 8, which, as shown, may be a portion of the element I suitably bent out of the upper surface thereof, and which also coacts with the flattened surface 9 of the needle to cause it to rotate and align the eye l0 thereof with the orifice 5 and the threading element 6. When the needle is inserted into the threader, a stop ll serves to limit the longitudinal movement of the needle so that the eye' It will register with the orifice 5.

I may provide a cylindrical projection l2 on one surface of the element I which may be inserted into the bore of an orthodox thread spool for conveniently supporting the threader thereon.

The alternative form of my needle threader illustrated in Figures 5 to 9 inclusive of the drawings comprises a top block 13 and a bottom block M adapted to be held together by means such as a bolt l5 passing through registering orifices l6 and I! in the respective blocks, and a band l8 of U A rabbet 22 of uniform depth and preferably of arcuate form is provided in the surface of the block M which is adapted to contact the block [3,

and with the adjacent surface of the latter block forms a grove for the reception of the thread 4. The adjacent margins of the block surfaces which form such groove are provided with chamfers 23 which together form a V-shaped groove for the reception of the needle I which is adapted to be held in the groove by means of a resilient clip 24 held in place by the bolt l5.

A longitudinal groove 25 in the inner surface of the block l4 intersects the rabbet 22, and is adapted to receive a slidable threading pin 26. The latter has a portion 2'5 turned over at right angles to its length which is received in an orifice 28 in the head 29 of a plunger 39. The plunger is freely reciprocable in a groove 3| in the block l3, and a chamber 32 also in such block receives the head 29 to prevent Withdrawal of the plunger from the threader and also contains a spring 33 which normally urges the plunger away from the thread receiving groove to withdraw the threading pin therefrom.

Registering shoulders 34 are provided on the blocks 13 and E4 to act as a stop for the eye end of the needle I for positioning the latter with its eye in register with the threading pin 26.

As illustrated, a pad 35 of cloth or the like may be held between the band l8 and the blocks l3 and 4 to serve as means for conveniently carrying a supply of needles on the threader.

In the second alternative and preferred form of my device, as illustrated in Figures 10 to 16 inclusive of the drawings, a base plate 35 is provided having a preferably integral resilient rearward extension 31 which is bent to partially underlie the plate and then form a substantially U-shaped portion which may be inserted into the bore 38 of a thread spool 39 to position the threader thereon. Such plate also has a resilient forward extension 49 bent into substantial U- shape, the free leg 41 of which projects above the plate to hold the needle 1 in position for threading.

On the base plate 35 are placed successively a plate 42, a shim 43, and a top plate 44, the whole being held together by means such as lugs 45 on the top plate 44 which may be first bent into notches 45 in the underlying plates and shim and then bent to underlie the base plate.

Oppositely bent ears 4? and 48 are provided on each of the plates 42 and 44 respectively, the pair 41, 41 forming a needle-receiving V-notch and the pair 48, 48 a V-notch for guiding the thread 4 into the thread groove. The latter is formed by the spacing apart of the plates 42 and 44 by the shim 43, the thread contacting end 49 of which is of arcuate form. Such shim also has a longitudinally disposed slot 59 therein, in which a threading pin 5! slides. The latter is secured at its inner end to a slider 52 which slides freely in a housing 53 formed in the top plate 44, by, as shown, upsetting one end of the pin and hooking it through an orifice I45 in the slider wall. The slider has an actuating lug 54 projecting freely through a slot 55 in the housing 53, and a spring 55 in the housing serves both to normally urge the slider away from the thread receiving groove to withdraw the threading pin therefrom, and to support the major portion of the threading pin in the slot 54 in the shim. The smooth taper of each ear 43 adjacent the location of the threading pin 5! is interrupted by a shoulder 51, such shoulders forming a stop for the eye end of the needle '5 when the latter is inserted into the threader.

As shown, a disc 58 of material suitable for receiving printing for advertising or the like, and a disc 59 of felt or other material into which a sup-ply of needles may be inserted for conveniently carrying them on the threader, may be secured beneath the threader by inserting the extension 3! through orifices in the discs. A notch 50 may also be provided in the disc 58 for anchoring the free end of the thread from the spool.

The operation of the form of my device illustrated in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive of the drawings is as follows: with the spring element I in the normal relaxed position as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the thread is engaged in the groove 3, the finger 8 and the stop l l directing the thread into such groove when the thread is placed across the free end of the upper surface of the spring memher I and pulled towards the groove. The head of the needle is then pushed into the groove 2 under the finger 3, until the end of the needle abuts the stop ll. Regardless of how the axis of the eye of the needle is oriented when the latter first engages the threader, as the head of the needle is pushed under the finger 8 the finger coacts with one of the orthodox flat surfaces 9 of the needle to cause it to rotate until, when the eye of the needle abuts the stop H, the eye I!) of the needle is both in alignment and register with the orifice 5 and the threading element 5. To thread the needle, it is then only necessary for the user to compress together the free ends of the element I, whereby the threading element 6 enters the orifice 5 and pushes a loop of the thread through the needle eye as indicated in Figures 3 and 4. On allowing the spring element to relax, the threading element is withdrawn from the needle leaving the loop of thread in the eye, and as the needle is withdrawn from the threader the finger 8 engages the thread loop to pull more of it through the eye so that it may be readily grasped by the user to complete the threading operation.

To use the alternative form of my needle threader as illustrated in Figures 5 to 9 inclusive of the drawings, the thread is laid across the shouldered end of the upper block l3 and drawn into the groove formed by the rabbet 22, the clip 24 assisting in guiding the thread into the groove. The head of the needle is then inserted into the groove formed by the chamfers 23 under the clip 24 until the eye end of the needle abuts the shoulders 34. During the insertion of the needle head into the threader the clip 24 coacts with one of the flat surfaces 9 of the needle eye to cause it to rotate until the eye is aligned with the threading pin 26, and the shoulders 34 are so located that when the eye end of the needle abuts them the eye is in register with the threading pin, so that with the thread and needle positioned in the threader, when the plunger 30 is depressed against the action of the spring 33 the threading pin 26 pushes a loop of the thread through the needle eye. When the plunger is released, the spring 33 retracts the plunger to withdraw the threading pin from the needle eye, leaving the thread loop therein, whereafter, as the needle is withdrawn from the threader, the clip 24 engages the loop to pull more thread through the eye so that the former may be readily grasped by the user to complete the threading.

The operation of the preferred form of my device as illustrated in Figures 10 to 16 inclusive is substantially the same as that last described for the form shown in Figures 5 to 9. The thread is first inserted into the thread groove formed by the arcuate end 49 of the shim 43 and the spaced apart plates 42 and 44 by drawing it under the leg 4| of the U-shaped extension 40 and between the pairs of ears 41, 4'! and 4B, 48. The needle head is then inserted under the leg 4| and into the notch formed by the ears 41, 41 until the eye end abuts the shoulders 51, during which the bore of the needle eye is aligned with the threading pin 5| by the leg 4|, and the shoulders 51 locate the eye in register with the threading pin. With the thread and needle in position, the lug 54 on the slider 52 is moved toward the needle to cause the threading pin 5| to push a loop of thread through the needle eye as hereinbefore described.

In the last described embodiment of my invention, in order to make diiferent needle threaders for use with different ranges of needle sizes, it is only necessary to provide shims 43 of different thicknesses and in which the slot 5|] is appropriately located in order to bring the threading pin 5| opposite the centre of the needle eye when the head of the latter abuts the shoulders 5'! and threading pins 5| of the proper size, all the remaining parts being of the same dimensions for any range of needle sizes.

It should be noted that in all embodiments of my device the efficiency with which the threader operates depends on the dimensions and arrangement of the needle receiving notch, the thread receiving groove and the threading pin being such that the diameter of the threading pin is substantially equal to the thickness of the thread receiving groove, and that the needle receiving notch is of substantially greater section than the thread receiving groove, so that there is no possibility of the thread escaping the threading pin before the latter enters the needle eye when the pin is actuated for threading the needle.

An advantage of my improved needle threader is that the thread, after being laid parallel to the long axis of the needle, is pushed through the needle eye, and accordingly a needle may be threaded with thread of the largest size the eye will accommodate. In the orthodox threaders, a hooked threading element is first pushed through the needle eye, and then a loop of the thread, laid transversely of the long axis of the needle, is pulled through the eye by the hook. With this type of device, the shorter diameter of the eye has to be great enough to pass the hook element and two thicknesses of thread, thus greatly limiting the size of the thread with which the threader may be used.

A further advantage of my device is that both the thread and the needle are substantially automatically aligned for threading by the operation of placing them in the threader.

Yet another advantage of my device is that the size of both the needles and threads with which it is used may vary considerably without impairing its efficiency.

A still further advantage of the preferred form of my invention is that threaders for use with difierent ranges of needle sizes may be fabricated from a number of standard parts, only two of which need be of difierent dimensions for the difierent ranges of needle sizes.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A needle threader comprising a pair of elements each having a plane surface, means for securing the elements together with the plane surfaces in register, means on one margin of each of the plane surfaces cooperating to form a needle receiving groove having a needle engaging abutment at one end, a parallel thread receiving groove of lesser width than the width of the needle receiving groove formed between the pair of elements, a threading pin, and means for reciprocably positioning the threading pin between the elements substantially at right angles to the thread and needle receiving grooves and with the threading pin extending freely through an space the plates apart to form a thread receiving groove and having a slot therein communicating with and extending substantially at right angles from such groove, an oppositely directed on each plate extending from the thread receiving groove and coacting to form a needle receiving groove parallel to the thread receiving groove, a needle engaging abutment on one of the plates and disposed in alignment with the needle receiving groove, a resilient finger on one of the plates disposed transversely of and overlying the thread receiving groove, a threading pin reciprocable longitudinally in the slot in the shim, actuating means for the threading pin, and spring means for normally maintaining the threading pin retracted from the thread receiving groove.

4. A needle threader as claimed in claim 3 wherein said actuating means for the threading pin comprises a member connected with the pin and freely slidable in a cavity in the inner surface of one of said plates, and an operating lug on the slidable member projecting freely through a slot in the wall of such cavity, and the spring means comprises a helical spring compressed between the slidable member and the end. of the cavity.

5. A needle threader comprising a base plate, a cover plate, a shim disposed therebetween having an arcuate margin and a slot communicating therewith. and extending radially therefrom, said margin and the adjacent inner surfaces of the base and cover plates fornnng a thread receiving groove, an oppositely directed ear on each plate extending from the threadreceiving groove and coacting to form a needle receiving groove disposed at substantially right angles to the slot in the shim, an oppositely directed lug on each plate extending from the thread receiving groove for directing the thread into the groove, a shoulder located at the junction of each of said lugs with its plate, said shoulders coacting to form a needle engaging abutment, a resilient substantially .U-shaped extension on the base plate, the free leg of which is adapted to be disposed transversely of and to overlie the thread receiving groove betweenthe ears and the lugs, a threading pin reciprocable longitudinally in the slot in the shim, actuating means for the threading pin, and spring means for normally maintaining the threading pin retracted from the thread receiving groove.

6. A needle threader as claimed in claim 5- 

